Under 18 National Championships Group Stage Recap: Tasmanian Men Top Group: Women Claim Clutch Shootout Win

An eventful group stage at the National Under 18 Championships in Darwin has concluded, with the Men finishing unbeaten to claim top spot in their pool and the Women winning a dramatic penalty shootout to book their place in the knockout stages.

The Tasmanian Men could scarcely have asked for a better start to the tournament, opening with a dominant 7-0 victory over the Northern Territory. Cruze Gray led the charge with a hat-trick, while Angus McMullen, Alastair Stebbings, Trent Smith and Patrick Donegan also found the back of the net.

They followed that performance with another convincing display, defeating South Australia 5-0. Gray and McMullen each scored twice, with Trent Smith adding the other goal as Tasmania all but secured progression to the finals.

Their final pool match against Victoria proved to be one of the games of the tournament. In a thrilling end-to-end contest, Tasmania snatched a dramatic 5-5 draw courtesy of a last-minute equaliser from Angus McMullen. Cruze Gray continued his outstanding tournament with another two goals to finish the group stage with seven goals, while Patrick Donegan and Joey Bush also added their names to the scoresheet as Tasmania hit back from 5-3 down with 7 minutes to play.

The unbeaten campaign group stage sees Tasmania finish on top of Group B and secure a direct place in the quarter-finals. Before then, they will take on Queensland Maroon in a repechage fixture on Tuesday at 5:30pm.

The Tasmanian Women also had their fair share of drama. They opened their tournament against a powerful Queensland side, suffering a 5-0 defeat before responding with a determined 1-1 draw against South Australia. Essie Pelham scored a crucial last-quarter equaliser to earn Tasmania a valuable point and keep their finals hopes alive.

In their final pool game Tasmania fought hard, but narrowly went down 1-0 to Victoria. The result left Tasmania and South Australia with identical records, forcing a penalty shootout to determine third place in the group.

Goalkeeper Maya Almenara produced a remarkable performance, saving all four South Australian attempts, while Abby Sargent and Frances Boyles  converted their penalties to seal the shootout victory and send Tasmania through to the knockout stage.

The Women will now face Western Australia Black on Monday at 12:30pm, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.